Oh no. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I knew Willy was so young.
My Taz was diagnosed with renal failure shortly after he had surgery to remove some sacks that were surrounding his kidneys. I believe there was more to his health than I knew. Or the surgery brought on the failure. Not sure, but he was around 14/15 years old at that time. He did not make it a year.
But I know there are lots of others here on Pet Talk that have had (and still have) cats that are staying strong through the years. I remember reading somewhere recently (can't remember who posted or where I read it) that their cat was diagnosed 5 years ago. With proper care (and I know you will give proper care) Willy can be with you for years to come.
It might come down to you needing to give him sub-q fluids at home. Have you done that before? I had read about it here on PT and thought I'd NEVER be able to do it. I did it with Taz and it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. They seem to know it helps them.

I will be thinking of you and Willy.

Our goal in life should be - to be as good a person as our dog thinks we are.
Thank you for the siggy, Michelle!

Aotearoa- New Zealand -Kia Ora, Tena Koutou,Haere Mai From the Land of the long white cloud.

Posts

11,165

oh Lisa, i am so sorry to read this, he is so young, but i am sure with the love and expert care you give him and advice from your vet Willy will live a long life, i went through it all with Ash, but then he was an old cat, and he was on steroids, which may or may not be suitable for Willy,i wish you and Willy all the best and i hope he will continue to do well on his new diet.,thinking of you both. HUGS.

P.S as for SUB Q'S i would discuss this fully with your vet first.

Have fun at the Rainbow Bridge,Zara,Rusty, Juliette ,Romeo,sweet Tessa,wee stray and Harvey you all will never be forgotten.

Furangels only lent.
RIP my gorgeous Sooti, taken from us far too young, we miss your beautiful face and purssonality,take care of Ash for us, love you xx000

RIP my beautiful Ash,your pawprints are forever in my heart, love and miss you so much my big boy. (very special thanks to Alysser for my cute siggy)

RIP my sweet gorgeous girl Ellie-Mae, a little battler to the end, you will never ever be forgotten, your little soul is forever in my heart, my thoughts, my memories, my love for you will never die, Love you my darling little precious girl.

RIP lil Benson the Hedgehog, came in to our lives suddenly and for a short time ,but you were loved and cared for and missed.

Lisa, if it is CRF - the chronic kind - Willy could live many good years yet with the right food (great that they BOTH like it!) and sub Q fluids when the time comes. I don't have kidney cats (yet?) but I seem to recall that a few can get by on extra wet food and going to the sub fluids later.

Thank goodness you saw to this early! Willy looks perky and healthy - I bet he'll fool the vet and then some!

While Myndi isn't a cat, she was diagnosed with kidney disease, tho not full blown kidney failure. She has been on prescription k/d for about a year and a half, and is doing very well considering that she is now 16. She takes no meds for it and does not require fluids. Once you get the k/d into Willy, you should notice a drastic change in the amount of water he drinks, and of course the peeing that goes with it.

Prayers that he does well and is with you for a good long time to come.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wolfy ~ Fuzzbutt #3

My little dog ~ a heartbeat at my feet

Sparky the Fuzzbutt - PT's DOTD 8/3/2010
RIP 2/28/1999~10/9/2012

Myndi the Fuzzbutt - Mom's DOTD - Everyday
RIP 1/24/1996~8/9/2013

Ellie - Mom to the Fuzzbuttz

To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.
Ecclesiastes 3:1

The clock of life is wound but once and no man has the power
To know just when the hands will stop - on what day, or what hour.
Now is the only time you have, so live it with a will -
Don't wait until tomorrow - the hands may then be still.
~~~~true author unknown~~~~

This is from Sunday's Cat of the Day's thread, the person who posted it promised she doesn't work for that company, but has had such good results with it, she wanted to make sure people knew about it.

Has your Momma heard about "Tripsy"? It is a liquid drops supplement for cats with kidney problems. It has VERY GOOD reviews. Please have your Momma search for Tripsy atwww.petwellbeing.com. Read the reviews for it. It has a 4.6 out of 5 stars rating, with 303 reviews. I give it to a couple of my older cats to prevent future kidney problems.

Thanks guys. I really like our vet so I was shocked that he seemed so negative.
He recommended the food change and sub-q fluids when the time comes. He didn't even mention medication.

I'm ordering the Tripsy. I'll do some more research -- please keep the advice coming -- and book another appointment and get some answers. If he doesn't seem interested in exploring treatment options, we'll change vets.

Ask your vet about microchipping. ~ It could have saved Kuhio's life. And it cost Halo hers.Ask your vet about Polycystic kidney disease ~~ Rest in peace WillyLoved by Lisa

Since Willow doesn't have kidney issues, she probably should not be eating the k/d because it is so low in protein, and she would not be getting the amount of protein that is required for a cat of normal health. That's probably why the k/d is only available thru a vet or with a prescription.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wolfy ~ Fuzzbutt #3

My little dog ~ a heartbeat at my feet

Sparky the Fuzzbutt - PT's DOTD 8/3/2010
RIP 2/28/1999~10/9/2012

Myndi the Fuzzbutt - Mom's DOTD - Everyday
RIP 1/24/1996~8/9/2013

Ellie - Mom to the Fuzzbuttz

To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.
Ecclesiastes 3:1

The clock of life is wound but once and no man has the power
To know just when the hands will stop - on what day, or what hour.
Now is the only time you have, so live it with a will -
Don't wait until tomorrow - the hands may then be still.
~~~~true author unknown~~~~

Good point. I'll be sure to ask. So far Willy is the only kitty that doesn't like the wet food. Naturally! Since he's the only one who really needs it.

Originally Posted by pomtzu

Another thought - and you might want to check this out with a vet.

Since Willow doesn't have kidney issues, she probably should not be eating the k/d because it is so low in protein, and she would not be getting the amount of protein that is required for a cat of normal health. That's probably why the k/d is only available thru a vet or with a prescription.

Ask your vet about microchipping. ~ It could have saved Kuhio's life. And it cost Halo hers.Ask your vet about Polycystic kidney disease ~~ Rest in peace WillyLoved by Lisa

I've had 3 cats develop kidney failure and pass of it, all rather quickly. In each of those cases, it was discovered late, or the cat had other health issues putting a strain on the body in general and the immune system in particular, or both.

Now, Sparkle, she was diagnosed with early stage CRF in Sept 2010. I immediately started feeding more canned food - by that time, I'd been through it, researched, and learned a bit. Cats in the wild seldom drink water; they get the fluids they need from their prey. So our cats also tend not to take in enough fluids. All this time, and Sparkle is STILL in early stage!

Of course Willy doesn't like the wet food. That figures. You may want to do a bit of online research, see if you can find a low protein canned food that he does like, and use it as a supplement to the k/d prescription food. This is entirely up to you, there is nothing (that I know of, anyhow) to support this medically. If you do want to go that route, here is a link which helps with cat food ratings: http://www.petfoodratings.net/cattable.html

FYI I have just used any grain free canned food for Sparkle, not a low protein one. I use it as a supplement, and give it to all the cats -- since it seems none of them are going to do well if they only get dry kibble. Two of them have gained weight since I started this. Sparkle has not gained, but hasn't lost any since Sept 2010, either.

I pray Willy is in the early stages and has lots of time with you still.

Let's see if I can remember what I just posted but it blanked out on me.

Did the vet say acute renal failure as opposed to chronic renal failure? Was it the lack of concentration in the urine that made him give the diagnosis of renal failure? Did he take a blood sample, and if so what are the BUN, Creatanine, Phosphorous, Potassium and red blood cell counts? From what I've read online, it seems chronic renal failure is mainly age-related and basically caused by the kidneys shrinking in size and losing their efficiency. Acute renal failure can happen at any age and has to be treated aggressively by a vet. Can you get a second opinion? In your place, I'd push sub-q fluids, 100cc twice a day (it's what Sam gets and has been tolerating well for over a year) until you have better answers.

Lisa, my Puddy was diagnosed w/CRF when she was only four years old and she lived to age 14 and part of that time she had only one kidney! Don't despair; subQ's perked Puddy up immediately, especially when I injected the B vitamins right into the port on the fluid bag. Keep the faythe.

These are excellent websites with a lot of advice. Please do not despair. With Filou it was diagnosed when he was 9 years old and he lived in excellent life quality until he was 15. In the beginning it was diet only - and when checking the levels they progressed very slowly and even became better.
In the last years it was weekly sub-q fluids for him.
I would always go that same road- he was a happy boy.

Schuyler was recently diagnosed and we give him sub-qs daily and half a a pill (forget the name; begins with a "b") for his heart to help his kidneys function better. He is doing really well so far. Try to get Willy off the dry food because wet is what cats need for optimum health, as stated earlier by someone. Visit www.catinfo.org to understand why cats should not eat dry food. I am surprised your vet did not do blood work for a conclusive diagnosis, and also why sub-qs were not prescribed. Along with others above, I suggest you consider getting a second opinion. Willy may not even have CRF, and without blood work your present vet could simply SUSPECT that is the condition. So, you need a definitive treatment plan, upon getting a thorough diagnostic work-up. If his blood levels indicate the disease, then you can begin management. Many cats live quite a few years, and I wish this for your Willy and my Schuyler.

AvaJoy
=^.".^= Avatar courtesy of Kimlovescats . . . many thanks!EvErY LiFe ShOuLd HaVe NiNe CaTs